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James Michael Curley House in Jamaica Plain, on Boston's Irish Heritage Trail

One of Boston's most endearing neighborhood landmarks is the James Michael Curley House at 350 The Jamaicaway in Jamaica Plain.  The house belonged to James Michael Curley, himself one of the most colorful and legendary politicians to come out of Boston in the 20th century.  

Born on November 20, 1874 on Northampton Street in Roxbury to Irish immigrant parents from County Galway, Curley was the dominant figure in Boston and Massachusetts politics for half a century.  In addition to serving four four-year terms as mayor of Boston, in 1914, 1922, 1930 and 1946, he was Governor of Massachusetts from 1935-37, and also served as  US Congressman from 1911-14.

In 1915, when he was mayor, Curley had the 21 room mansion built in Georgian Revival architectural style, with a crystal chandelier, Italian marble fireplace, mahogany interior and a three-story spiral staircase.  It sits on 1.2 acres and is across the street from Jamaica Pond and the Emerald Necklace, a ring of parks and ponds built by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the 19th century. 

 

On the exterior of the house, the most notable feature is the collection of ornate shamrocks carved into the 30 window shutters, a symbol of Irish-American ascendency in Boston during the early 20th century.

 

Curley lived in the house for 41 years, from 1915 to 1956, when he sold it to the Society of Oblate Fathers for Missions Among the Poor.  The Boston Landmarks Commission voted to give the house landmark status in 1983, and in 1988, under the leadership of Mayor Raymond L. Flynn, the City of Boston purchased the house from the Oblate Fathers, with income from the Trust Office's George Robert White Fund.  


Read the Report of the Boston Landmarks Commission for full details about the house, which has been a protected Boston landmark since 1989.

 

Curley died on November 12, 1958 and is buried at Old Calvary Cemetery in Roslindale.  


In a Boston Herald article, Mayor Flynn called Curley 'the mayor of the poor,' and also 'the master builder of Boston's public works and transit.' 

 

The City of Boston Archives has a significant Mayor James M. Curley Collection of Curley's political papers and materials, including correspondence, scrapbooks, speeches, writings and other memorabilia.

 

A collection of Curley's speeches, news clippings, correspondence and memorabilia can also be viewed at the Boston Public Library.  


The Jamaica Plain Historical Society has a collection of photographs spanning Curley’s illustrious career.


The Curley Notebook Collection at Holy Cross College in Worcester is digitized collection of Curley scrapbooks between 1914-37.


Today, the Curley House houses the offices of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy.


The James Michael Curley House is part of Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail a collection of 20 landmarks in downtown Boston and Back Bay, and an additional 20 sites in Boston’s neighborhoods.


Here is a roundup of Boston Irish mayors with Irish ancestry.

 

For more about year-round Irish cultural activities, visit IrishBoston.org.

 

 

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